Naked City
Amungme tribal member Tom Beanal signs a "memorandum of understanding"with Freeport-McMoRan : a major coup for the company.
By Robert Bryce, Fri., Sept. 1, 2000
What's Yours Is Mine
A few months ago, he was suing Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. Today, he's an ally. Two weeks ago, Tom Beanal, an Amungme tribal leader who sued the company in 1996 for $6 billion for human rights and environmental damages, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Freeport CEO Jim Bob Moffett. The two men have agreed to seek a mutually beneficial relationship "based on the principles of equality, honesty, and justice."
The agreement appears to be a major coup for Freeport, which has been locked in an ongoing battle with the Amungme over environmental and human rights problems at its huge Grasberg gold and copper mine located in West Papua New Guinea. Beanal's suit against the company was dismissed last year by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. A companion suit, filed in Orleans Parish court by another Amungme, Yosepha Alomang, was dismissed earlier this year and is being appealed. In an August 18 press release put out by Freeport, Beanal said, "All we have ever asked for is to be treated fairly and with dignity. That has not always been the case, but this agreement has been carefully and honestly negotiated and ensures that we will treat each other fairly and as equals from now on. We have built this agreement like a good house, we have laid all of the planks carefully and straight so that we can all live in it in peace and prosperity for a long time to come. I would like this MOU to be seen as a model for future Papua economic and welfare empowerment."
Moffett said the agreement is the result of "years of patient dialogue," and is "further evidence of our commitment, and now means we will continue this effort hand in hand with the local people." For more information, go to www.fcx.com.
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